Exploring Dalhousie—a
jewel in the Himachal hills
It took all of half an hour to 45 minutes at most for
the early morning to be over. When we left the valley scene below us, half the
valley was still in the shadows of our own hill. It would take some more time
for the sun to reach our hotel and the tree-lined avenue running in front
of it.
We retired to our rooms after knocking at the
restaurant for breakfast. We felt the day started quite well and wanted to make
the most of it. The brightness of sunshine outside had elevated our spirits
greatly.
Usually breakfast in modest hotels and guest houses in
the northern parts of this country comes in three or four standard options.
Bread, butter and milk with omelette is the most common option, followed by
Aloo Parantha and Dahi, Puri and Bhaji or Cornflakes and milk. Both of us
settled for the first option. It would be filling and acceptably tasty at most
places. Aloo Parantha would have been a bit risky in a cold place like this, we
felt. When properly made, a crisp and soft Aloo Parantha with Dahi and a pinch
of salt tastes heavenly. But it is a delicate dish. Slight undercooking or
overcooking may leave you highly dissatisfied. Specially when you know how good
it could taste. It is all about expectations, I guess.
A short
flight of stairs took us to the road. It was nearly 9 and the valley fully
lighted up. Sun had risen high enough now to reach our road and the faraway
snow peaks on the east nearly invisible in slight haze.
 |
| Dalhousie valley bright and smiling in the morning sun |
We decided to explore first our part of this small
world. Subhas Chowk, the main junction of two circles of 8, lay behind us. We
went forward.
Yesterday
was our first day and we had reached late in the day. We couldn’t perceive the
grandeur of the surroundings fully. Now in bright daylight a narrow winding
road lay invitingly in front of us. Tall trees flanked the road.
 |
| Tree-lined avenue - upper Dalhousie |
The
hill sloped gently upwards on the left and when we looked closely, we could
detect wire fences going up—these were occupied territory. The narrow road
curved on the left and we could just see a viewpoint at the turn of the hill
road.
 |
| Viewpoint on the Viewpoint Avenue |
This viewpoint commanded the west valley view of
Dalhousie and looked very inviting. “Imagine how good that would be if it were
heavily snowing or raining now.” I told Tukai. He smiled, “But it is a bright
day and April. Would you like to sit for a moment?” I smiled back. He knew very
well I don’t like to stop when roaming unless dead tired.
As we
looked on the right, dense tree cover greeted us. It was just like a forest.
But when we looked closer we could detect signs of houses nearly hidden away
behind the trees.
 |
| Dense tree covered hillside - upper Dalhousie |
Our
progress was very slow. There was no time or destination target for us. The
varieties of trees stopped us every now and then. We marveled at the beauty of
the trees on this stretch of road.
 |
| Fascinatingly tall trees |
The
more we went forward the trees looked to be older and more densely formed. After
crossing the viewpoint the road curved left and then right. A number of old
trees with specially thick trunks adorned the right flank of the road.
 |
| Shaded stretch |
This
was a stretch with particularly heavy shades. Every stretch on such a hill road
has its own character. For a brief period the shady area was liked. A flock of
jet black mountain crows kept Tukai occupied for some time and I searched for
interesting breaks through the trees. By and by in due course of events we went
ahead leaving the shade behind and reached the place that turned out to be the
most interesting and attractive to both of us in Dalhousie.
 |
| Multi-layered attractive place |
In no time we noticed the sign of Sacred Heart. This
is a very old school and this sign was for its junior wing with a West Valley
view we presumed. The whole place was deserted, the trees were of all types a
few of them old guards and most interestingly we could savor roads at more than
three levels within a very short space.
 |
| A place we liked |
Everything
in the scene in front of us was in place, right where it should be. The only
thing lacking was a living moving human being.
 |
| Road on the right nearly hidden - all four levels visible now |
The Sacred Heart entrance on the right was nearly
hidden from view. The main road veered right and then took a turn left. Hill
stations, specially 150 year old hill stations like Dalhousie still holds some
mysteries for its suitor.
Before
leaving the place I couldn’t resist to have a quick look towards east through
the trees.
 |
| Clouds adorn the sky - snow peaks hidden now |
Clouds had risen from their sleep in the valley below
and gathered over the hills. Those were the last of the clouds,
non-threatening, harmless—now only ornamental to the sky.
I looked nearby.
Creepers engulfed the whole broad trunk of a giant tree nearby and reached its
branches.
 |
| Giant tree |
Throughout
the morning we noticed splashes of red amongst the trees. A few trees were full
of the red flowers and attracted immediate attention. We didn’t know the name
of the flower, but appreciated its bright red color.
 |
| Splash of red |
The
road finally moved left and around the hill—we reached the other side of the
hill. This was the other arm of the smaller circle of 8.
 |
| Hill on the other side |
The
hill opposite was with good tree cover and also showed modern constructions.
Civilization had spread over the hills all around.
 |
| Shopping street |
My
friend mentioned about this street. Shops, banks, post office lined up the
street—this was the Shopping Street. Not good to look at but necessary. A
number of shops carried the old colonial ambiance by their quaint looks.
 |
| Company on the deserted road |
We quickly completed the round and returned back to
our valley side arm of the road. Two ladies walked fast towards us on an
otherwise empty road. It was noon, not very hot, but still lunchtime.
I asked
Tukai, “Go in?” “A few minutes more.” Tukai was not fully satiated. I also had
in mind the empty road going downhill that we met earlier. This special road we
had met after crossing out hotel.
 |
| Come, explore me |
This
road branched out from the main road and went downhill. It feels good to get on
to such unexpected pathways. I noticed the tree a little ahead full of red
flowers. Going down looking sideways at first I couldn’t recognize our hotels.
These hotels were built from rocks below up to five stories high to reach the
upper level of the main road.
 |
| An unusual view |
The
sun was now high overhead. No shadow of the hill on the valley below. With
dense tree cover all around them, the colorful little houses lay supremely
peaceful under the sun. The whole world was so beautiful.
 |
| Peaceful under the sun |
We
turned back. A memorable sunlit morning lay behind us.